


Mon Petit

by Bonkers_Samurai



Category: The Borrowers - All Media Types, おそ松さん | Osomatsu-san (Anime)
Genre: Bottom Ichimatsu, Chubby Ichimatsu, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, How Do I Tag, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I'm Bad At Tagging, M/M, My First AO3 Post, Romantic Fluff, Weirdness, Why Did I Write This?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-19
Updated: 2018-06-19
Packaged: 2019-05-25 19:54:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14984420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bonkers_Samurai/pseuds/Bonkers_Samurai
Summary: He lived in that building his whole life. So why was he just now meeting the tiny person who lived inside the walls?





	1. Chapter 1

With a groan Karamatsu sat up in his bed, stretching his arms above his head. After his back popped and he let out one final yawn he got up. While he got dressed he stole a glance at his clock. He grimaced; it was times like this that he was glad he was his own boss. And only coworker. But maybe if he was lucky, one of his brothers would swing by for lunch. With that thought Karamatsu made his way into the bathroom to finish getting ready for the day.

With his teeth brushed and hair combed he walked down his stairs to open up shop. 

Dust flitted through the air, illuminated by the early morning sun that poked in through the windows. Knick-nacks of all kinds littered the shelves and display cases. A few gumball machines sat by the front door. Then to the far left of the shop was Karamatsu's own creations, which didn't sell all too well. But neither did anything else for that matter.

It didn't really bother him much. Or so he told himself. He was lonely, sure. But who wouldn't be. Be was stuck. Stuck with his grandfather's old antique shop after he passed away. While his brothers got left him. They were all a part of the will--- the building belonged to all of them. But the others signed over their parts to Karamatsu with out even telling him; leaving him alone to run the used-to-be family business. All while he had his own dreams he would like to achieve. Not that anyone cared. Was he bitter about it? He liked to think he wasn't, at least.

He flipped the sign in the store window over, letting everyone know he was open for business. 

After a good three hours, a few customers came in, he even managed to make a couple bucks. 

He passed the time by playing his guitar, not in the mood to sew like he usually did. His sewing machine and assorted fabrics abandoned in their corner. Had been for about a week. Not only was Karamatsu stuck, as he put it, in the shop--- but he was stuck in a creative rut, unable to think up new fashions. 

He could recall a time when he couldn't stop the flow of his ideas. . . but now. He sighed as he stopped strumming his instrument. 

The bell attached to the front door chimed, perking up the young man instantly. His smile grew upon seeing who it was. "Osomatsu! My brother, what brings you here?" He bellowed in his over dramatic voice.

His brother shrugged and pulled up a chair. "I was on my way to pay my water bill, n' decided to get lunch first. I figured you didn't eat breakfast." He pulled a big bag of take-out out of his backpack. 

Karamatsu nearly drooled at the smell. 

"Knew it," The older of the two teased.

"What?" 

Osomatsu rubbed a finger under his nose. "You didn't eat breakfast," Karamatsu sighed, "and Choromatsu's always blabbing about how it's not healthy to skip meals like you do and--"

"And go to the gym with Jyushimatsu everyday." He rested his head in the palm of his hand. "I know."

He didn't have the gal to admit the real reason he skipped breakfast (and sometimes lunch) so often was really because he was struggling to make ends-meat. Instead he managed the lame excuse; that he simply forgot.

"Then why don't you start setting alarms on your phone or something?" His brother questioned, opening his container of food. 

Karamatsu let out a heavy breath through his nose as he too, opened his thing of food. "It's not that big of a deal, really."

"Yeah, yeah" He spoke around a mouth full. "Anyway. How's everything going? Don't think we've talked since last week."

Karamatsu hummed in acknowledgment. They went back and forth for awhile. They talked about the restaurant Oso had gotten the take-out from-- and how they weren't as good as they used to be. They went on to bills, which Kara managed to avoid and instead they were talking about their late grandfather. Not that that was any better.

"Yeah. He might of been crazy, but I sure miss him,"

"Mhm. Not the same without him. Don't nearly get as many costumers anymore," He mumbled the last part.

Osomatsu gave him a pat on his shoulder. "You know if you're ever in any trouble, you got me and the others to fall back on, right?"

He swallowed thickly. It always came back to that didn't it? Having to rely on his brothers. He wouldn't of minded it if they were just working at the store with him-- but just giving him money like some kind of charity? He had more pride than that.

He gave him a fake smile. "I know."

Osomatsu must have noticed this, because he opened his mouth to say something--- right before something crashed against the floor. 

They both jumped and turned to look at the source. An old snow-globe laid in pieces, scattered across the floor. While the glittery water audibly dripped through the floor boards.

"What the fuck was that?" Osomatsu almost asked off-handedly. 

Karamatsu stood up and grabbed a loose rag and broom out of his cleaning supply bucket. He swept up the glass bits while the other inspected the shelving. 

Karamatsu almost chuckled as he saw him go all detective mode. "You don't have to do that. It was probably just teetering on the edge."

"Aha!" He declared, "That's where you're wrong. Look--" He motioned for him to come closer--" you see that?" 

"Dust?"

"Well, yeah. Which you should probably do something about." Kara rolled his eyes, "But look. You can see the ring around the globe-- I mean where it was. Ya know what I'm saying."

And he did know. The formation of dust clearly showed where the globe originally sat, and the scuff marks that made it looked like someone purposely knocked it over. It was very peculiar. 

He grumbled. "I hope I don't have rats."

Osomatsu got a playful glint in his eyes. "Or worse." He smirked, "It could be grandpa's ghost coming back to haunt you."

Karamatsu ignored the sudden chill he got. "Oh, whatever."

He laughed at his own twisted joke before he looked at his watch. "Oh man. I better get going. I'll leave the leftovers with you. See ya man," He gave his brother a quick hug before he went out the door. 

Karamatsu shook his head when he left. He got down on his knees and wiped the rest of the ooze that didn't leak into the basement. 

And he could of sworn he heard something scuttering across the floor. 

He turned his head as the source of the noise emerged from the shadows of the shop. 

Sighing in relief, he reached out. "It's just you Akachan."

The slender white cat meowed something unpleasant as it came over, not-so-gently smacking its head against Karamatsu's hand. 

"How you feeling, kitty?" He cooed and scratched under its chin. 

It purred loud boisterously, clearly enjoying the attention. 

"Was that you who pushed the snow-globe?" He asked rhetorically. 

The cat nipped at his finger tips.  

"It's not very nice you know. Braking my things. I could of gotten some money for that." 

Akachan responded by giving its paws a few licks.

He sighed and scooped the cat up in his arms. He was just about to head upstairs when he turned around and flipped the window sign back over. It wouldn't matter. Lunch time was just about over so he wouldn't be getting many customers until later.

When he was upstairs he sat his cat down on his kitchen counter. He fluffed the fur on its head, "Lets get you your medicine, yeah?"

Karamatsu pulled open a drawer and pulled out the cat's eye medicine. At the smell of the substance it was about to make a run for it, before Kara grabbed the poor thing. 

"Hold still, it's to help you!" He pleaded while Akachan squirmed.

The declawed cat couldn't do much before its eyes were dripping with the medicine. 

"There." Karamatsu huffed and let them go. 

He screwed the cap back on and shoved the bottle back into the drawer. Once that was done he collapsed on his couch. 

Akachan sat on the stool by the TV. It hissed at Kara and curled into a ball.

"So much for a ghost." He muttered and reached for the remote. 

A thud interrupted him mid reach. It was small, almost unnoticeable. And he would of let it slide if Akachan didn't jump up and run over to whatever made the noise.

'Please just be a rat.'


	2. Chapter 2

Throughout the week, Karamatsu was visited by more loud crashes and broken figurines. After the conclusion that it was, in fact, rats, he used most of his spending money on traps. 

While he was placing another mouse trap down in the corner, he gave his cat a look. "I wouldn't have to do this if you weren't so lazy, you know."

Akachan flicked its tail and growled.

He huffed and made his way back over to the cash register. _What is the point in keeping a cat if it won’t do its job?_ He thought bitterly. But when the cat in question rubbed against his leg with a purr, he gave up.

Just as he sat down at his desk, the front door opened and a group of elderly people came in. He smiled and told them good morning; they did the same before they began browsing the small aisles. 

Karamatsu pulled out one of his many clothing magazines. He didn't even get to the third page before a snap sounded just beside his feet. He ducked his head under the desk. There a mouse trap sat, with no trace of a rodent.

He grumbled and sat back up. He could reset it later.

An old woman came over and set an antique vase down on the counter.

"Hello ma'am. Will this be all?" He asked while he rung it up. 

She nodded while pulling money out of her purse. Once he handed her the proper change, the group collectively left like they came in. 

When the door clicked shut behind them, Karamatsu checked the time. Half past twelve. He felt like calling it quits for the day like he did yesterday. Instead he just leaned back in his chair and continued to aimlessly flip through his magazine. 

He knew he wasn't going to get any customers, but he didn't want to take any chances. After crunching the numbers the previous night, he needed every bit of money he could get his hands on.

He could always do what he thought about when his brothers left. He could sell the store. It has always been just talk though. Something Osomatsu would sometimes bring up in conversation over the phone, times when Kara would call him at 3 A.M, having a crisis over bills. But it was an empty threat. The store was his home, no matter how hard a place it put him in financially.

He was almost angry at his deceased grandfather.

The rest of the day came and went. Only a handful of customers actually bought anything; leaving him with only ￥16,000 in profit. But Karamatsu being Karamatsu, he looked on the bright side: he still had leftovers from yesterday he could eat for dinner. So he could wait another day before he went grocery shopping. 

While he was heating up his dinner he had to shoo Akachan off of the counter two times. Each time the cat would try to get closer to the sink. "Aren't cats supposed to hate water?" Karamatsu thought aloud as he picked his cat up on the third try. "What are you trying to get to?" He smiled and looked in the sink.

He raised a brow at the small mound of purple fabric that sat pressed against the corner of the sink, as if trying to appear smaller. 

Without a second thought he reached down and picked it up. (He could have sworn he felt it tense under his grasp) Once he had it in his hand he turned it over to get a better look at it. It was then that he saw arms, legs, and a mean sour puss look on its face. 

'A doll?' He thought incredulously, 'Why the hell is there a doll-- wait did it just blink?'

"Put me the fuck down!" the thing demanded.

Karamatsu screeched and dropped it on the counter. 'Not a doll. Not a doll.'

It let out an ‘Oof’ as it landed on its stomach. 

Karamatsu grabbed a wooden spoon off his table and pointed it at the thing. "Who are you?" he questioned cautiously as he stepped forward. "What are you?"

They snapped their head towards him while they stood up. "What are you?" they asked back mockingly.

The voice that came from the little thing almost startled Karamatsu. How could it have such a deep voice?

"A. . . human. . . ?" he answered, unsure of himself.

Was he seriously talking to them? 

They scoffed. "Well there you go," their eyes traveled to the spoon. They took a step back, "Are you going to attack me?"

Karamatsu's eyes widened and he got a feeling of guilt. He quickly sat the 'weapon' back down and moved even closer to the being. 

He couldn't wrap his head around what was going on. Was this a dream? A figment of his imagination? Had he lost his mind? He cleared his throat. "Wha- what's your name?" He mentally hit himself. There's a literal little person standing on his countertop and he thought to ask its name?

They eyed him some more. "You first."

Well that didn't seem very fair. But Karamatsu told him anyway: "Karamatsu," he then gestured to the other.

They huffed and crossed their arms. "Ichimatsu," they mumbled.

"Where did you come from?" he pressed.

Ichimatsu glared up at him. "Why do you wanna know?"

Karamatsu didn't understand why they were being so defensive. "Well, because you're in my house. And I just found you in my kitchen sink." There were more reasons, obviously. But those ones felt more appropriate to say.

"I-I live here," their shoulders tensed "And I just fell in because I wasn't paying attention."

"You live here?" Kara asked quizzically. "For how long?"

They clicked their tongue. "My whole life?" 

That made even more questions buzz through his head. "Um. . . how old are you?"

"What's with all the questions?!" 

Karamatsu flinched and put his hands up in defense. "I'm sorry!! I was just curious!! You don't have to tell me!" 

His mantra of apologies were soon interrupted by the smoke alarm going off. He cursed under his breath and grabbed a pair of oven mitts before he turned back to the microwave. 

When he got the food out and it was set atop his table, he ran and grabbed a broom to try and fan the smoke away, but was stopped when he took notice of Akachan trying to get up on the counter again. He dropped the broom and picked the cat up. "No. Bad kitty!" He scolded and set them back on the floor. 

By the time he got everything situated and looked back for Ichimatsu, they were gone.

"Ichimatsu?" He called, to which he got no answer.

Looking around the kitchen, there was no sign of him.

Grumbling, he leaned against the counter and folded his arms over his chest. Maybe he was hallucinating? Karamatsu looked at his dinner--- burnt to a crisp.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a clarification, Ichimatsu is 5 inches tall. 
> 
> Also i would just like to thank my fabulous beta reader Gnattine! This would be a mess without them


	3. Chapter 3

Karamatsu  didn't know  what to think  after his encounter  with Ichimatsu. He had millions of questions, and only Ichimatsu could answer them. His number one question was, how long? How long had this teeny boy lived in his home? He had said his whole life; then do the little people age quicker than normal--- like insects?  
  
One thing was for certain. Karamatsu switched out all of his mouse traps for more humane ones, ones that wouldn't cause bodily harm.   
  
He was hoping he wasn't going crazy, and he really did meet Ichimatsu.   
  
The next few days went by slowly, with no signs of Ichimatsu, much to Karamatsu's displeasure.   
  
He tried doing some kind of research on the subject, but nothing remotely plausible came up. He was close to just chalking it up to being his imagination. That was until minuscule amounts of his food started to disappear. He wouldn't of noticed if he hadn't counted out exactly six pieces of meat on his plate, and when he went back to his kitchen to get a drink-- a piece went missing.   
  
Which brought the question, what did Ichimatsu regularly eat? He couldn't of gotten a lot of food from Karamatsu; sense he rarely ate, even when he did it was usually takeout or fastfood-- and he would finish it all himself.   
  
(So this brought the great idea to bait the traps with marshmallows. But all he got were ants.)   
  
He wasn't giving up, his curiosity refused to let him. Just the idea of such an amazing being like Ichimatsu boggled his mind.   
  
He wanted to tell his brothers about it, but didn't want them to think he was crazy. (Not that the two didn't think that already.)   
  
Sighing, Karamatsu leaned back on his chair and crossed his arms. At least thinking about all those things gave him something to pass the time with. The old grandfather clock that sat in the back was a painful reminder of how slow time was passing, the rhythmic ticking driving him mad. Maybe he really was crazy.   
  
As if on cue, the big hand hit twelve and the triple chime echoed throughout the shop.   
  
Akachan jumped up on the checkout counter, the feline's tail flicked from side-to-side while it held eye contact with Karamatsu.   
  
He frowned and pet the cat's head. "I know," he complained, "There's nothing to do."   
  
Karamatsu slowly brought his eyes back to the clock. His best bet was holding tight for when his brother, Choromatsu, would stop by; he had agreed to help Karamatsu take inventory of the store. (And he needed all the help he could get, sense boxes of junk that didn't sell at an auction had been dropped off a few days ago.)   
  
When his brother finally did show up, all he did was complain about how dirty and unkept the store was. Karamatsu gave his usual excuse: that he didn't have time to clean. He was obviously lying like a rug, but thankfully his brother didn't argue.   
  
Much.   
  
"You're just like Osomatsu-nii-san. You say you have better things to do besides work, yet those 'better things' is just sitting around doing nothing." His younger brother said while straightening one of the many bookshelves.   
  
Karamatsu rolled his eyes but nodded anyway. "I know. I know."   


He hated being reminded of how much a failure he's been as of late. Karamatsu couldn't help it. Hell, he could barely force himself out of bed in the morning. Let alone run the store by himself. _By himself._ That thought always put him in a much worse mood.

  
"If you know, then do something about it--" A small shattering sound halted Choromatsu from his scolding. "What was that?"   
  
Karamatsu  was brought  back to when  Osomatsu had stopped  by for lunch. His mind shouted that it was Ichimatsu, but he reminded himself that Choromatsu was there-- and he really didn't want him finding out about his encounter.   
  
"I'm sure it was nothing," he tried to sound aloof, but instead he sounded squeaky and panicked. "I'll check on it. Just . . . go back to what you were telling me." Karamatsu speed walked over to the source of the sound: a small clay vase that was now in pieces on the floor.   
  
Choromatsu watched him skeptically, but shrugged it off when Kara said he could continue talking. "Right. Well as I was saying, you should really get out more if that's your problem--"   
  
Kara tuned him out, bringing his focus to the shelf where the vase originally sat. Akachan was sitting idly by, attracted by the random sound from just moments earlier.   
  
Karamatsu occasionally nodded at his brother's rambling, but in blatant honesty he couldn't care less about what he was talking about. He lifted up other things that were on display, moving them recklessly around in an attempt to find his house guest. Not paying attention to what he was doing, his elbow knocked a figurine off, it too fell to its demise.   
  
Akachan jumped and ran upstairs.   
  
"What are you doing?" Choromatsu almost yelled, his patience thin.   
  
"I was, uh. Trying to dust?" he shrugged sheepishly.   
  
Choromatsu shook his head. "You need help, Nii-san."

  
-

  
Karamatsu slumped down on his couch.   
  
After Choromatsu had left, he checked, and double checked his traps-- all empty. He was fed up with this game of hide and seek. Why wouldn't Ichimatsu just come out and say hello, or something. Karamatsu wasn't threatening in the least-- oh. He paused, then internally scolded himself.   
  
Setting traps, for a possibly starving person-- after believing they were an infestation. (Or his grandfather's ghost.) The poor thing.   
  
Akachan crawled up next to him, then began kneading his jeans. Karamatsu picked his cat up and sat it on the ground. "Now's not the time, Akachan." The cat was unfazed, hopping right back up beside its owner. Karamatsu looked at his pet, annoyed. "No kitty. You're interrupting my thinking process--" he glanced back down at his cat, then gasped at the glorious sight.   


The tiny boy dangled from Akachan’s mouth, the cat's jaw and sharp teeth keeping him from going anywhere

  
Ichimatsu began thrashing and kicking at the sound of Kara’s gasp. Akachan dropped him from its mouth and licked its paws afterward.   
  
Once Ichimatsu was free he was going to make a run for it, but Karamatsu snatched him up in his hands. "Let me go!" he shouted while punching and slapping Karamatsu's hands and wrists.   
  
Karamatsu wasn't undeterred as he stared at him, a smile tugging at his lips, "It's you. You're real." The words themselves almost sounded surreal.   
  
Ichimatsu glared at him, "Yeah, I'm real. And You're gonna get a real swift kick in the ass if you don't let me go!!" demonstrating, he held onto Kara's knuckles for leverage and kicked his wrist.   
  
Not wanting to offend him, Karamatsu forced his giggles down.  "I'm not going to hurt you. I promise."   
  
Ichimatsu didn't look convinced. "If. . . you're not going to hurt me . . . then let me go."   
  
He furrowed his brows, "No." he finally had him, he wasn't just going to let him go. The thought was ludicrous.   
  
Ichimatsu growled and squirmed some more. "Why not?! What do you want with me?!"   
  
"Well I. . . " he thought for a moment. Why did he want to catch him so bad? The questions he wanted answered, sure. But it probably had something to with how un-kept the little guy looked. His hair was wild and past his shoulders. And his clothes were just tattered rags. Not to mention his discovery of Ichimatsu's lack of food. "I merely wish to help you," he said proudly.   
  
Ichimatsu's frown turned questioning. "How do you plan to do that?"   
  
Karamatsu smiled knowingly, "You're hungry, aren't you?"   
  
When he saw Ichimatsu swallow thickly, he knew he had him. Kara got up, careful not to hurt the passenger in his hold, and made his way over to the kitchen. "If I sit you down, you promise not to run away again?"   
  
He rolled his eyes. "Are you getting me food?"   
  
"Yes."   
  
He licked his lips and eyed the kitchen silently before speaking again, "Maybe."   
  
With a sigh, Karamatsu put him on the counter-- ironically where he first found him-- then quickly rummaged through his cupboards to find something edible. After a short while he managed to find a pack of saltine crackers.   
  
He turned back to the counter, smiling softly upon seeing Ichimatsu didn't leave.   
  
"What's with that look?" he pointed at the pack in Kara's hands, "That's poisonous, isn't it?"   
  
Karamatsu gasped and shook his head. "Absolutely not! I told you I wouldn't hurt you!" he opened the sealed packaging and pulled a cracker out. "It's food. Sorry it's not much, I haven't been to the store in a while." he handed it to him, and Ichimatsu took it cautiously.   
  
He smelled it, looked up at Kara, then back to the cracker. After a few more seconds of inspection, he took a bite. Then multiple more.   
  
Karamatsu leaned his elbows against the countertop. "Is it good?"   
  
He stopped and took a moment before barely nodding. "Um. . . do you have any water?"   
  
Karamatsu didn't even think about water. How careless! He even gave him salty food! "Of course! Hold on a second."   
  
He glanced around his small kitchen, trying and failing to come up with something Ichimatsu could drink from. Eventually he just filled his smallest glass up and put a bendy straw in it. It was actually quite amusing to watch Ichimatsu try and drink from the straw. Karamatsu would have to come up with an easier way later.   
  
"So. . . " Kara said, trying to break the silence.   
  
Ichimatsu was now sitting down with his legs crossed, finishing up his cracker.   
  
"You know. . . I could start cooking real meals for you." That made Ichimatsu's head perk up, "And you could have more variations of drinks besides water. I could even fashion you some more comfortable attire."   
  
He leered at him, "What's the catch?"   
  
Karamatsu's shoulders slumped. "I just want you to be healthy, I guess." He rubbed his chin. "But if there must be a catch. Then it would be for you to answer all my questions. Truthfully, and the best you can."   
  
"You're kidding, right?"   
  
He shook his head. "I'm very serious."   
  
Ichimatsu went quiet. He looked at the snack food in his hand, which was probably the biggest portion of food he had gotten in a long time. Then to the tall glass of water. For once his mouth wasn't dry and he wasn't dizzy from dehydration. Then lastly, to Karamatsu. Who had this dorky hopeful look adorning his features.   
  
Ichimatsu sighed. What did he really have to lose?   
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Wow. So uh. . . AO3 is a huge change from Wattpad, that's for sure. I had to rewrite this chapter a good three times. I literally cried.
> 
> Anyway, Ichimatsu will be in the next chapter-probably. No promises.


End file.
